‘I did what I thought was right’
Tony Blair’s resignation speech
Sir
I read the speech, I heard him on the TVs.
My question is, is it not the fact that the politicians departures are always like this. Even Mohamed Ali resigned saying he had done the best. Iddi Amin killing millions in Uganda said, “I thought I did my best for my people”.
The question I have is “Who are my people”?
Tony Blaire led the wrong war. He should be apologetic and state this very clearly that I am sorry I went to the Ira q war with false information following some powerful nation blindly. I am sorry many British youths died because of this. I am sorry I could not do much fro Africa although I had promised.
His speech is a general good bye and few tears that are produced by the pharmacists.
No malice but he has certainly changed the history of Great Britain with the WMD.

Firozali A. Mulla MBA PhD, DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

Perhaps Blair will now be able to find the time to attend the funerals of British soldiers who have died for the sake of his subservience to Bush.

Paul Chenery, London,

If you remove Iraq from the discussion, Blair has been a moderately successful PM. The economy has been solidly managed during his spell in office, public services have seen heavy investment and some improvement (whether comensurate with the sums invested is debatable), crime overall is down. Obviously, not everything is perfect, there are problems with transport, affordable housing and immigration (or at least the public perception), and there has always been the problem that the use of spin makes it appear that Blair and the whole truth have not always been comfortable bed-fellows.

Foreign policy, and especially the use of rather thin evidence to support military action in Iraq and the apparent subservience to US interests in this action have seriously undermined Blair's reputation amongst those who are otherwise natural supporters, and certainly mean at present he is viewed poorly. Whether history will judge him well or not depends on the future of Iraq as much as the past.

Ian Blanchard, St Albans, UK

Blair should be forced to stay in some ministerial role as Minister responsible for Iraq. Why should he be allowed to run away to a highly profitable future life style and leave the U.K. to sort out his problems.

As to the U.K. itself he and Brown have created a financial nightmare - look at consumer indebtedness, the trade deficit and especially government borrowing when you add back PFI's. They have watched about 1 000 000 mainly manufacturing jobs be "globalized"out of Britain and have replaced them with c800 000 public sector jobs. The estimates for future public sector pension liabilities is heading towards £1 trillion. They halved the gold reserves at rock bottom prices and wrought massive damage to private sector pensions.

How's that for a legacy for Blair and Brown, because they should both go now.

Richard, Northumberland,

Think most of the votes against Blair are just bluster. Since labour have come into power we have had better economic management, albeit from the BoE, The NHS is in a better state - 6months waiting lists down to weeks, Education has improved, crime has gone down. Britain has taken a lead in important world issues like the environment, third world debt where there is no obivous direct benefit to us apart from doing what is right, rights across the board have improved, e.g civil partnerships, London is a true world centre of finance - the list goes on. There are obvious flaws that have infuriated people, Big Brother, Iraq etc. of course, but I think with Iraq, better in than out, than to become another mewling apologist like France. Brown is also probably the best replacement PM - Ming or Cameron - yeah right-o. Think Brown is exactly the sort of solid, financially focused, substance over style politician we most need.

Elliott, London,

"Blair is a remarkable man, the outstanding politician of his generation"
If he is truly the best we've got, this country is in more trouble than I thought.
A "remarkable" man's foreign policy doesn't consign hundreds of thousands of innocent people to death, reduce a country to rubble and starvation.
A "remarkable" man's domestic policy sell their own country down the river with mounting personal debt, massive tax burdens with no benefits, a terrible education policy and an underfunded Natinal Health system.
He is a war criminal and a traitor.

John Cornwell, London, England

'What HE thought was right', indeed.. the Iraq conflict was a combination of lies and subterfuge between him and Bush. It is still killing our soldiers out there and no mention made of that. His right is our wrong...
Now Brown is poised to take his place, ( voting not even considered ) 1000 of Video cameras all over the country, It is pretty obvious that Orwell was quite right and that anything can happen, anywhere, anytime, down to the whims of the regime at the time.
God help us when Brown becomes PM, he is a bigger egoist and poser than Blair, with no care at all for the general public, who have in fact inadvertently put him there.
Watch your backs...!

DS, Newcastle,

We may disagree with the Iraq policy, - only history - long from today, will tell.

Tony Blair has steered the nation successfully through one of the longest periods of high economic growth - for the most part significantly higher than our our other major European Partners.

Wounds have begun a process of healing - particularly in Northern Ireland.

Health and Education services have seen funding and support at unprecedented levels.

I say - Well done Mr Blair. I look forward to the significant role you will play as you move into other areas of influence. You have much still to contribute to the world we live in.

Ron May, Bedford., Beds

Amazing how the American contributors seem to like Blair. His government has been the most authoritarian government in Britain in a long time. The assault on civil liberties in the name of the 'war against terror' (fascist nonsense if ever I heard it) is reprehensible. Sadly the official opposition has hardly questioned this except the introduction of ID cars. This country has become more Stalinised as the years have gone by - surveillance, censorship (what else do you call Political Correctness? - fancy being visited by the Police because of what someone has said on a Radio phone in) and the inculcation of fear are the all the hallmarks of a dictatorship. Thank heavens he's going - pity the rest of them can't be persuaded to go as well. he shopuld be given a community order to clean up Baghdad.

Ian , Bristol,

Way to go Britain. Now you are in a perfect position to get an even better socialist in office to raise your taxes, create more oppressing laws, decimate your defense forces, cripple your industry, punish energy and initiative, undermined individual responsibility, and create bigger and better social welfare programs as more and more of the average Britain's wages are payed to the Treasury. Looking forward to the upcoming merger with the continent. Good Luck.

Jim Breasette, Chesapeake, Virginia/USA

Are we living in a dictatorship? Not one person commenting here has picked up on the fact that, we are now going to be told who is the next PM!

Where is our right to vote?

There are an awfull lot of people who are concerned about Mr Brown.

Why should he get to be PM just because he will be newly elected Labour leader?

Scary

LH, Dorset,

"I did what I thought was right"...is an excuse unbecoming of a Prime Minister of Great Britain.

He should be able to say, with confidence, : "I did the right things!"

In a nation, world -famous for producing great leaders, Tony Blair will go down in History as "The Great Follower"

Garth Strong, Sherman Oaks, USA

I don't care

tor torsen, torsby, torland

Interesting how Blair put his stage tactics before his morals in FLYING half way across Britain and then FLYING back. Blair may have done a lot for Britain but this little stunt has done nothing but damage to the environment.

Bruce , Oxford,

Hurrah! A tragic and disastrous 10 years for this country. But sadly it will not improve under Brown.

Michael, The Wirral, Uk

There is not enough space to list the disasters that Labour have unfolded on the UK, Pensions, Gold, Health, Education, Cash for Honours, Tax credit, Crime, Law & Order etc etc
Lets have a general election and see Labour down the road for good!

David, Nottingham,

"Whereas ten years ago, Britain had been a "strangely old-fashioned country", it was now one that was "comfortable in the 21st century, at home in its own skin"."

This, never mind any disagreement over policy direction and implementation, is just another to the ridiculous statements that Blair and his gang are prone to. And good reason to see them gone.

Geoff Harrison, Milnthorpe, England

I remember celebrating in 1997 when Blair was elected, but i'm afraid that most of what has followed has been disappointing.

Huge investment in the NHS hasn't had a commensurate impact (albeit some new hospitals have been built locally), our schools are largely a disgrace and a bloated public sector has left us with a pensions burden and costly inneffective, and sometimes pointless, departments.

On a personal level I still admire and support Blair, I don't even blame him massively for his Iraq decision, but I will be voting for his natural successor and be putting my cross in the Conservative box next election (for the first time in my life).

Kevin, Cro\,

I give my great respect and tribute to Tony Blair. He is one of the best Prime Minister ever. He has done lots for Britain. 95% of the home policies I support. However, in foreign policy issues I have some reservation on certain issues, may be he has his view point in terms of global co-operation.

I wish him luck.

karan paul, Ilford, Essex

I can’t think of one thing that isn't better now than it was in 1997. Economy - the longest period of economic growth in this country since records began, historically low interest and inflation rates (both in double figures under the Tories). Policing - more police than ever before, crime down by almost 50% (crime up by almost 100% under the Tories). Health – more doctors and nurses than ever before, new hospitals, waiting times in weeks rather than years under the Tories. The list just goes on and on….
Tony Blair has changed this Country for ever, for the good.

Gary G., London,

Britain has a habit of forgetting and a blame culture. Tony Blair might have made a mistake on Iraq which i was strongly against but that should not erase the good things he has done. Margeret Thatcher was forced out of office because people were fed up with the difficult times. Leadership has never been easy especially when doing a third term. A leader must have the ability to take decisions despite the consequences, Tony is a leader, whom i admire and hope history will eventually judge him correctly.
Tony as the Labour Pm has made Britain a multi ethnic society which has more advantages than disadvantages like with every other multi ethnic societies.
We might want to beleive that Britain is not such a safe place due to Tony Blair's foreign policy. I do not think so because its only a matter of time before Britain would have come under siege, Tony's actions only brought to light the fact that Britain was sitting on a time bomb that might have exploded when no one was watching.

C.D, Thornton Heath, London

Tony Blair's premiership will be forever blighted in my mind by Iraq. And what a great shame that is! That sunny day in May, 1997, held so much bright promise. I believe him when he says he believed it was the right thing to invade. But he was wrong and, now that he has gone, we are left still asking when will it end?

Antony Davis, London, London

I'm tired of hearing about Tony Blair - it's boring. I'm interested in what will happen next, but there's been such a lot of speculation for so long - my main reaction is a sigh of relief and 'At last!'.

Now let's hope the media don't keep analysing his final speeches for too long... Blair has done what he's done and should be judged on his actions - not the hot air he spouts about it while preparing to step down.

Gabrielle, Oxford,

Tony Blair's premiership will be forever blighted in my mind by Iraq. And what a great shame that is! That sunny day in May, 1997, held so much bright promise. I believe him when he says he believed it was the right thing to do. But he was wrong and, now that he has gone, we are left still asking when will it end?

Antony Davis, London, London

"What will people do when they don't have Tony Blair to kick around anymore?"

Kick Gordon Brown? Seriously, the only bad thing about Blair leaving now is that as the country slides even further into record levels of debt and increasing inflation, it'll look like his sidekick Brown's fault and not his.

I don't think Blair was a bad person, just a weak one. (See EU rebate etc...)

Ross Liversidge, Ripon, UK

All I said was he left his country in a better position than he found it. Nowhere did I say he got everything 100% right. Reading comprehension is a delightful thing, you know - give it a try sometime! Let's skip ahead a couple months here when Gordon Brown is PM. Now THAT is an unappetizing proposition, innit. Why, he won't even NEED a Chancellor - he can just program a computer to raise your taxes every 3 months. Look, again, I never said Blair did 100% of the things he did 100% right - no one does that. Not you, not me, not anyone. What I said was I that, weighed in the balance, Tony Blais leaves the UK better off than he found it and I stand by that.

JIm, Milwaukee, USA

Jim of Milwaukee should read the comments of the people that live in Britain before he declares Blair to be a good Prime Minister! The USA is a long way from Britain and Blair's total mismanagement of all aspects of government do not affect him.
Blair is a liar and a meglomaniac. He has been a disaster for Britain and this will become evident when he finally goes.

gina, stevenage , England

Socialist, Mr. Thijm? Under New Labour the rich have got richer and well... the postmen have been offered a rise of 92p per week no matter how much extra junk mail they are forced to deliver.

Brian , Liverpool, UK

Gosh everyone's so happy, and so am I, but consider the foreboding... Gordon Brown, who noone really knows at all... there could be doom around the corner...

Sarah, London, UK

I am part of the Blair generation, a generation who have grown up knowing little else in the way of politics. The conservatives couldn't mount a successful challenge to his dominance, whether this was due to his ability or their ineptitude is a point many will debate. Its not like Mr Major was the epitome of charisma! The fact remains the British public elected him three times. I think history will judge him kindly as a capable leader, a good politician but with his legacy forever overshadowed by Iraq.

Matt Yates, Leamington Spa,

He must have a twisted view of what is right.. the country is destroyed in so many aspects during his premiership. Frightening that Brown will be continueing with his contrl freak put pat me for it policies. Even more frightening that the Tories cannot up with something ro challenge this lot..
Ps. I've already left the country, living in Spain..

Howard Sutcliffe, Stockport,

Some day, in the fullness of time, I hope those of you who have excoriated Tony Blair will have the grace to look back and admit that you were wrong. I think that Tony Blair has been an example to Britain and to the world of a man who makes the difficult choices in extremely trying circumstances, does the right thing, and stands his ground under a constant barrage of condemnation. Britain has been fortunate to have such a man at her helm during these difficult years. America has been fortunate to have such a friend as Tony Blair, leading Britain. God Bless Tony Blair and may he always be comforted by the knowledge that he saw the right and did it against enormous odds.

Georgia, Austin, Texas, USA

Well,well mr Blair made his mistakes no doubt the iraq war being the biggest. However as a whole he has been a good prime minister . Constructive criticism is one thing ,but this deluge of prejudice is unfounded, but it is typical of the indigenous population ,is it not.

A.T.Martin, warsaw, poland

I don't like Blair or his 'ideas'. I disagree with many of his judgements. But I’m not happy about his leaving office. It is basically certain that Gordon Brown will be the next PM. Our economy is in a right state. I remember TB not too long ago introducing GB as "the greatest chancellor this country has ever seen". Utter rubbish! I don't like the conservatives either. Think I'll emigrate. New Zealand sounds good.

James Green, Sheffield,

It has become immensely popular to heavily criticise Blair the man, and Blair the politician. People often partake in criticisng the man knowing full well that most will reply stupidly with zoo style noises of approval. Large sections of the media and whole swaths of the country openly revile him and, subsequently, vote accordingly. And yet Blair is a remarkable man, the outstanding politician of his generation, who has dominated the political landscape since 1994. The Conservatives have at last caught on to the fact that if they are to win, they must fight the battle on the ground that Blair chose and trumpeted.

He has had serious and far reaching failings, that much is obvious. But people should not be so quick as to dismiss his Premiership.

Oh and Trevorjd from Devon - enjoy your UKIP vote, it will play right into the hands of Labour.

Dan, Manchester, England

So, farewell, then, Tony Blair.
Keith's mum says you have a lovely smile
But I think Andy Kershaw got it about right
When he said you were" a wrong 'un".

Baz Elvin, Wiltshire, England

One wonders, Jim from Milwaukee, what your frame of reference is. Personally, I feel Blair's departure is loooong overdue, but unfortunately I feel that the damage that he and his gov't has done to the United Kingdom is beyond repair. Is England a better place in 2007 than it was in 1997? Like Hell !!

C Heathcote, Tonbridge,

'I did what I thought was right' I'm sure Sadam Hussein felt the exact same way about the way he governed - if Blair ends up the same way as him it'll be too good for him.

John Cornwell, London, England

At last,.. the end of Blair and hopefully next will be the end of labour, .. good riddance to both

Tony Harris, Conwy,

In classic ( true is not a word associated with this prime minister ) fashion the first farewell speech to an audience of selected Blair apostates was delivered in his typically nauseous manner.
His jerky, sentimental, self-deprecating presentations will continue to roll off the production line for months to come.
The vast majority knows that it is an act, it always was an act and always will be an act. Blair, the practised actor forever looking for the next spotlight, the next adoring audience.
Let the curtain drop: go: the viewers are sick of you.

Rick, London, England

It's all very well saying he did what he thought was right. I'm sure Bin Laden will say the same about 9/11. The fact is he went into Iraq having made up his mind in advance. He ignored the intellgence (or rather lack of it) and sound advice and lacked the courage to say to Bush - hold on your post invasion plans aren't good enough. Any achievements, such as the Northern Irish settlement, are totally overshadowed by Iraq and the disaster which unfolded. He has undermined any trust we had that our Government can be trusted to listen to its military and intelligence advisors. He has placed spin above everything else. He will have to live with the knowledge that apart from the deaths of thousands of Iraqis and over a hundred British troops he is largely responsible for the death of well respected civil servant. Conveniently for Blair he is religious and will therefore leave it to his maker to judge his actions. Many think he should be judged while he is still with us!

Kevin, Kent,

It is going to take generations to undo the damage this man and his useless, incompetent, government have inflicted on this country, let alone the rest of the world. I have no doubt Jack the Ripper would lay claim to only have done what he thought was right, at the time.

dk, London,

Jim, Milwaukee: could you clarify how a US citizen can comment so insightfully on whether or not the UK is a better place to live after ten Blair years? In some ways it is, in many it isn't. Iraq is a disaster and - however it is resolved - has destroyed centuries of British Middle East diplomacy. If Mr. Blair did what he throught was right then that is fine, but it does not speak highly of his judgement. What a shame: he started so well, and he leaves us with that and with an unelected dauphin....

d'argent, London,

Good riddance to a naive unworldly lawyer cum politician whose inept management , inefficient use of resources , crass decision making and flawed knee jerk /sofa policies will cost and haunt us all for decades to come.

What exactly has he done at home except to squander massive amounts of public money on services which are barely better than 10 years ago and in the process racked up enormous debts under PFI schemes?

His foreign policies leave us diminished in the eyes of the world , a puppet of a fundamentalist U.S and a target for extremists.

Thinking "it was the right thing to do" does not measure up to reasoned judgement based on facts , consultation and expert advice , even if god , or Mr Bush ,told him to.

All in all a waste of space who has frittered away enormous goodwill and the opportunity of the century to turn this country around.

Shame on you Mr Blair. Don't wait til June - go now.

Rob Green, Braintree, England

I'm astonished that so many people believe he leaves the country in a poor state. His approach to foreign policy may have left a lot to be desired, but ultimately our country is economically stronger and more modern in both its infrastructure and its attitude.

He wasn't what I would call a brilliant PM, but we could have done a lot worse. We'll all realise that in a couple of years

S. Gore, Liverpool,

I don't care if you thought it was right Mr Blair. It was wrong. My two year old neice knows that it's impossible to prove a negative, on which insane logic the "prove you don't have WMD" Iraq invasion was based. Quite seriously, he should stand trial for what he has done. Then apart from Iraq, quite simply one of the most disastrous, ignorant, lying and stupid Prime Ministers this country has ever known.

Laura Roberts, London, UK

As a US citizen, I feel we are losing a true friend. I have the highest respect and admiration for Mr Blair, much more so than for our own President. I wish him well in all his future endeavors. I wish we could elect him President over here!

Rod, Charlotte, NC, USA

What he thought was right was actually catastrophically wrong. Standing by Bush the war monger and lunatic has created a legacy that will destroy so many more lives.

He has created internal religious strife, wasted billions that havent saved the public services and made the UK a place to leave rather than live

His election is what precipitated my emigration to somewhere more normal and i'm afraid the lights dimmed on 2 May 1997

jce, Sunshine Coast, Australia

Yes, Blair was the worst PM since at least... John Major. Oh. Blair has done well bar Iraq - and the aim of deposing Saddam was right, only the execution (both senses) went wrong.

Ben, York,

Blair got it wrong over Iraq, Brown decimated the pension funds, but overall Blair he did change the face of Britain! In ten years his government have maintained a healthy economy and though our pensioners are among the poorest in Europe he has made changes for the better for them in some respects.

Gordon Brown has a hard act to follow, but as the joint architect of New Labour he will carry on the traditions established by the Blair era. No doubt we will move even further to the right. Let's face it under New Labour or Cameron, an apology for a politician, all spin and absolutely no substance we will enivitably carry on down the road of this illusion of democracy. In less then a generation we have seen the groundwork put in place for a future republic. Big Brother has arrived in the guise of New Labour and the Tories and Liberal Democrats are not a viable alternative as they too lean too far to the right for genuine democracy in the British Isles.

Billy Wilson, Glasgow, Scotland

I would suggest a public holiday, but now we get Golden Brown as PM for the next three years.

Tony Blair's problem was, always, that he had no policies. Up to a point, this was a good thing, as he tried to do whatever worked rather than sticking to an ideology. In the end, though, he had to take his foreign policy from George Bush, his economic policy from Golden Brown and his law and order policies from the Keystone Kops.

"Here lies the body of Blair our King
Whose word no man relied on;
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one"

Frank Upton, Solihull,

If hed done nothing else than get rid of the house of lords then thats good enough for me! We are more of a democracy now! Thatcher was worse than Blair.

JOhn Smith, London, UK

So Blair is on the wing, feathering his nest, grooming the geese for the golden eggs. His last bottoms-up gesture to the British taxpayer.

Tricia, E Sussex, UK

Dude you're free Milwaukee Wisconsin, how would you know?

Rickey, London,

What will people do when they don't have Tony Blair to kick around anymore?

Frank, Wicklow, Ireland

Why did Blair travel to Trimdon Labour Club from London by car?

Surely as a good green he should travel by train.

Somewhat two faced......oh sorry I forgot he is a
politician after all.

Algern Black, Cheltenham, Glos.

Thanks Jim from Milwaukee. You're clearly not taking into the account the great benefits of living in a country with a Labour government... Cue heavy taxation, and a poor economy. Please refer to Labour's history of leaving behind economic turmoil- post Harold Wilson and Clement Attlee. Poltical success is not all about trying to wage "Wars on Terror".

MNS, London, UK

Tony Blair has claimed he changed the UK from 'strangely old fashioned' to what it is today. I am afraid the country was converted from it's old fashioned ways by Margaret Thatcher. What exactly does TB think he has done to claim this achievement?
We are far from comfortable in our own skin as to proclaim to be proud to be English is tantamount to being a racist criminal.

Goodbye and good riddance. Now we just need to get rid of the rest of the socialist cancer that constitutes the Labour party.

David Thijm, Stourbridge, UK

'Thank God' and 'finally' is all I can say!

Tricia, Boston, Lincs, UK

Thank God it's all over.
Tony should spend six months outside of Britain and I don't just mean in Iraq!
He might then have an appreciation of just how culturally impoverished Britain has become.

gerard gillham, mortagne, france

"Believe me I did what was right". That's all right then. Who is paying for his extraordinary world tour?

Justin, London,

If you think Tony Blair has been a poor leader, just consider this - there's worse to come.

The dour Scotsman Brown will lead Britain, for sure - right back into the dark ages.

Expect taxes to rise steeply, excessive state interference, demonisation of the indigenous population and the rise again of union power.

All dressed up by the spin-doctors so as to tell us "you've never had it so good"

Would the last one to leave please turn out the lights.

Phil, London,

Not Brown's UK,Also not Elizaberth's UK,We can just see a partisan of U.S in the future.

K24, Chongqing, China

Mr Blair and his Iraq policy brought disgrace and shame upon this great nation. Couldn't wait for him to go.

B. Uddin, London, UK

Now that he has finished with it for his own purposes, he should give the Labour Party back to the people it was set for in the first place.

Andy Roberts, London , UK

Has anyone warned Africa?

John Chuckman, Toronto, Canada

I think that Blair has been the worst prime minister this country has seen in a long time! Where has all the money gone for what should have been for the NHS and education! i'd really like to know that!

Barbara - Ann Cheesman, Sheffield,

I'd like to rejoice in the departure of Tony Blair who succeeded in being the biggest conman in British History. Promising so much, achieving so little and leaving this country in a catastrophic state.

However my rejoicing is tinged with despair because those he's leaving behind couldn't run a p*** up in a brewery!

We're still besieged with mounting debts, arising from monetary mismanagement, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and over subsidy to the EU.

Perhaps UKIP will be a better bet in the next election. In the meantime we wait with trepidation to see what further mal management will be foisted upon us!

trevorjd, Torbay, Devon

The test of a leader comes down to one thing: did they leave their country a better place than they found it? Tony Blair, like him or not, passes that test. He was a good Prime Minister, perhaps not a great one, but certainly a good one. He's got no reason to be ashamed of his record.

JIm, Milwaukee, USA

Thank God for that.The Actor leaves the stage.Perhaps we will now have a Leader instead.

Michael Rigby, Chorley, England